World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) was first launched in 2003 on the 10th of September by the International Association for Suicide Prevention with the endorsement of the World Health Organization (WHO). The 10th of September each year has been designated as a way of focusing attention on the problems of suicide worldwide.
CASP’s 2024 WSPD Event
Changing the Narrative: How we can Reshape Public Discourse about Suicide to Save Lives
with special guest, Dr. Mark Sinyor
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
10:30-11:30a am EDT (Toronto time zone), Live via Zoom (online)
7:30 am PDT / 8:30 am MDT / 9:30 am CDT / 10:30 am EDT / 11:30 am ADT / 12:30 pm NDT
This is a free, online event.
The World Health Organization lists interacting with the media on responsible reporting as one of four key, evidence-based strategies for preventing suicide at a population level. This recommendation arises from what is now a rich body of literature describing the Werther and Papageno effects. The theory underpinning these effects is that social learning can result in imitative behaviours in some people exposed to suicide-related media. To address this, guidelines have been released across the globe encouraging responsible reporting; these mainly include lists of putatively harmful content to be avoided and putatively helpful content to be included in media reports. Yet, there is an emerging confluence of evidence indicating that our approach to media-based suicide prevention may not be placing sufficient emphasis on the overarching narrative of suicide-related stories. This presentation will review recent evidence regarding the kinds of suicide-related media content and narratives that are associated with harms and benefits. In particular, it will draw on the Canadian experience including efforts to improve media discourse which resulted in far greater adherence to guidelines, continued reporting with a focus on harmful overarching narratives, and no reductions in suicide rates. Implications for future approaches to media guidelines and engagement will be discussed.
Dr. Mark Sinyor is Psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. He is regional coordinator for America’s region for the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s Partnerships for Life initiative. He has published more than 100 scientific papers on suicide and has a focus on safe public messaging. He is lead author of the Canadian Psychiatric Association recommendations for responsible media reporting about suicide. He has developed a curriculum for middle schoolers teaching distress tolerance using the Harry Potter novels which has been used by thousands of young people in Canada.
THE EVENT HAS ENDED.
Light a Flame of Hope on September 10, 2024 at 8:00pm. Share the Light.
French language images can be found on our French website.
Related Information
Having Hope
